Guangdong cities announce less restrictions on home buying

Guangzhou and Shenzhen, two major cities in South China's Guangdong province, announced to loosen restrictions on home buying on Tuesday.

In Guangzhou, non-local families can buy residential properties as local residents as long as they have paid tax for six months, according to a notice published by the Guangzhou government on Tuesday.

Effective Wednesday, the notification specified six measures to boost the home market, such as a diversified credit policy on home mortgages, that will be implemented in accordance with the People's Bank of China's latest announcements.

In a separate announcement, the Shenzhen government also announced to lower both the down payment ratio and interest rates for homebuying, and the new lending policies will take effect immediately since Wednesday.

The minimum down payment ratio for individual commercial housing mortgages has been lowered to 20 percent for first-home purchases and 30 percent for second-home purchases, in comparison with 30 percent and 40 percent, respectively, according to the notice.